Lauren Cavallaro joined the Rice administration as Director of Student-Athlete Development in April 2013.

Prior to joining Rice, the Pennsylvania native served as athletic director at the Elizabethtown Area School District, which came after spending four years in various capacities at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

At Miami, she performed a multitude of duties from 2008-12, notably as Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services as well as Director of NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills.

As Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services, Cavallaro coordinated and prescribed support systems for student-athletes, including tutoring, learning assistance, counseling, scholastic enhancement and leadership development programs.

With the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, Cavallaro worked to enhance student-athlete wellbeing while also working with the university's career services center to prepare them for their futures beyond college. She coordinated programs to support career, personal and leadership development as well as numerous community service and networking activities.

Among the community service work, Cavallaro organized the Championship Reading Program, in which Miami student-athletes worked in various schools throughout the region to promote literacy and athletics with more than 10,000 local students.

Cavallaro held other positions in her tenure at Miami, including Director of Football Operations, women's tennis sport administrator and Assistant NCAA Compliance Coordinator. She also taught a pair of classes, including "Learning Strategies for College Success" and "Transitional Skills for the New College Student."

Prior to her time at Miami University, Cavallaro served as the Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development Coordinator for two years at her alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. In that role, she developed educational leadership development, risk management and diversity programs for faculty, staff and students.

Cavallaro also created and managed a fundraising campaign that raised $500,000 for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Additionally, she counseled and mentored students and coordinated large-scale community service events.

Cavallaro previously taught high school social studies through Teach for America in 2006-07.